This invention relates generally to apparatus for positioning a tool at a selected position and more particularly to a system capable of positioning a tool at a selected transverse position with close registration to a desired location and which can be easily cleaned by washing.
It is conventional to mount a tool on a track and to move the tool to selected locations between two extremities by means of a timing belt operatively coupled to a drive assembly. An example of this type of system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,443. This system can provide close registration of the position of the tool with a standard or selected position however such known traversing mechanisms are not suitable for use where it is desired to have a wash-down resistant system useful in various environments such as in clean rooms or in extremely harsh and dirty conditions.
It is also known to magnetically couple a carriage mounted on guide rods to a piston of a rodless pneumatic cylinder to move the carriage between two opposite extremities. This system can be made into a wash-down resistant system however, it does not have the capability of providing close registration except at the two extremities.